New Green Commission’s first public hearing

Sheffield’s new Green Commission will be holding its first hearing in public next week and limited places are now on offer to members of the public wishing to attend.

The Commission was set up to allow leaders from across the public and private sector to make sure environmental issues are given a high priority over the next 15-20 years.

It will have its first public hearing on Tuesday (2 December) at 6pm in the Town Hall when evidence will be presented by three expert witnesses on health, fuel poverty, sustainability and transport.

The three expert witnesses at this hearing will be Dr David Pencheon, Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit; Dr Adrian Davis, Public Health and Transport Consultant with Bristol City Council; and Professor Christine Liddell a Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Community Fellow at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland.

The Commission will sit over several months and collect evidence, both oral and written, as well as holding debates and hearing from expert witnesses. Each session will create a number of recommendations and at each intermediate stage written documents will be published on the Council website at www.sheffield.gov.uk/greencommission .

Tuesday’s meeting is the first of six hearings to be held in public, after which a report will be produced with short, medium and long term (20 year) recommendations for Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet next Spring.

Councillor Jayne Dunn, the Council’s Cabinet Member for Environment, Recycling and Streetscene said: “This is a significant commitment for Sheffield on an issue which affects everyone’s future. The choices we make now will affect our future resilience as a city, so I would encourage anyone who is interested in the sustainability of the city to get involved.”

Frances Wells, from FWA, who is a Green Commissioner added: “This is the start of a public conversation about a sustainable future for Sheffield and will help us understand more about the ideas, know-how and initiatives that will be good for a sustainable economy and business, good for our environment and good for local people’s health and well-being.”

Up to 50 places are available for the meeting on 2 December on a ‘first come, first served basis’ and anyone wishing to attend or join the Green Commission mailing list can register by e-mailing greencommission@sheffield.gov.uk.

Ends

Notes for editors:
Details of the three expert witnesses are:
• Dr David Pencheon, Director of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit. The NHS Sustainable Development Unit provides leadership, support and policy input to ensure the NHS in England is the leading public sector organisation in promoting sustainable development and mitigating climate change.; (see for example http://blogs.bmj.com/bmj/2011/12/13/david-pencheon-sustainability-by-stealth-8-steps-to-heaven/)

• Dr Adrian Davis, Public Health and Transport Consultant with Bristol City Council. Dr Davis holds a unique post in UK local government with a focus on building a stronger case for health enhancing sustainable travel where active travel is the norm not the outlier. (see for example http://www.travelwest.info/evidence)

• Professor Christine Liddell is Professor of Psychology and Distinguished Community Fellow at the University of Ulster in Northern Ireland. She is a member of the Northern Ireland Inter-Departmental Group on Fuel Poverty. She is currently principal investigator for NI’s first area-based pilot on tackling fuel poverty, working with 19 local authorities and their environmental health teams. She is first author on more than 35 peer-reviewed publications. She was recently appointed as member of NICE’s public health advisory group on excess winter deaths, and is part of a team of smart meter researchers recently commissioned by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to examine consumer engagement.
http://www.science.ulster.ac.uk/psychology/spip.php?page=tabs&spip.php?page=article&id_article=29&connect=psyri#page=background